Three arrested in two-county chase in Upstate

ANDERSON - A dangerous chase, with shots fired at law enforcement officers, ended with a car wreck and charges filed in two armed robbery cases.

Deputies picked up a brown paper bag with a few packs of cigarettes and cash after the 20-minute chase in two counties saw state troopers avoiding gunfire.

The Wednesday morning chase — covering about 27 miles in just over 20 minutes — began shortly before 1:30 a.m. with a robbery of a Save-A-Minit at 4145 Clemson Boulevard, at the intersection of Phil Watson Road/Stephens Road.

Two men and a 16-year-old girl have been arrested and charged with the robbery. The two men have also been charged with the armed robbery Monday of the Plez-U convenience store in Pendleton.

A man later identified as 19-year-old Thomas Bruce Craft Jr. ran into the Save-A-Minit shortly before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday with a shotgun in his hand and a pink bandanna on his face, said Chad McBride, a spokesman for the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.

He demanded cigarettes, energy pills and cash, according to a deputy's report.

Craft left with the items in a bag, hopped into an escape car, a 2008 Chrysler Sebring, and raced away, McBride said.

A South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper was pursuing the car as Craft fired several shots at the trooper, McBride said.

No one was hit by the gunfire and the trooper's cruiser was not damaged.

"Obviously there was a real potential for a deadly situation, for either the officers or the suspects," McBride said. He said deputies believe they have now solved two armed robberies that happened within two days.

While shootings are not common for troopers, they come under fire all too often, said Lance Cpl. Billy Elder, a spokesman for the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

McBride said he understands that no law enforcement officers discharged their weapons.

About seven miles away from the store, Craft pulled into a driveway on Jim Smith Road, getting out of the car and pointing a long gun at the trooper's cruiser before getting back into the car and racing away without firing, the report says.

Craft was driving and trying to get off Jim Smith Road as more deputies were beginning to arrive. Craft started driving straight at an incoming deputy's cruiser, forcing the deputy to swerve into a ditch, McBride said.

Craft swerved right, going a short distance through a field and winding up on Liberty Highway, aiming at Interstate 85.

A chase lasted for about seven miles on Liberty Highway before and after Craft slowed near the Glen Raven plant and the other two jumped out of the car, the report says.

Enough deputies and troopers were involved in the chase that some were able to stop and fairly quickly catch the 16-year-old girl and 18-year-old Jacob Allen Lees of Pendleton.

McBride said investigators believe the girl was actively involved or had advance knowledge of the robbery. She will be charged as an adult but her name will not be disclosed because she is a juvenile.

The rest of the caravan of troopers and deputies — authorities were not able to say how many were involved in the late-night chase — continued pursuing Craft as he drove onto southbound I-85.

The chase ended about 13 miles later, at 1:52 a.m., when a trooper intentionally bumped Craft's car, sending it down an embankment and into a tree, Elder said.

A state trooper used a Taser on Craft and deputies had their service weapons drawn as handcuffs were placed on him.

Craft has been charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, failure to stop and resisting arrest as well as another count of armed robbery for the Monday stickup of the Pendleton convenience store.

Lees faces armed robbery charges for both of the stickups and the juvenile faces one count of armed robbery.

Lees and Craft are being housed at the Anderson County Detention Center. Bond for Lees was set at $75,000 for each of his two charges and Craft will face a judge Thursday morning. The girl is being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice and information about any bond for her is not available because of her age.